Nationals 2, Marlins 1
Nationals 2, Marlins 1: Ross Ohlendorf pitched five strong innings and the bullpen took care of the rest as host Washington claimed the opener of the three-game series.
Ian Desmond recorded three hits and an RBI while Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche added two hits apiece for the Nationals, who have won six of seven. Washington trails first-place Atlanta by 13 games in the National League East but is within seven of Cincinnati for the second wild-card spot.
Ohlendorf (3-0) breezed through five scoreless frames before allowing a leadoff home run by Christian Yelich in the sixth, prompting a quick hook from manager Davey Johnson. Tanner Roark, Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard each worked a scoreless frame to get the ball to Rafael Soriano, who pitched the ninth for his 34th save.
Nathan Eovaldi (2-5) suffered the tough-luck loss, allowing two runs on eight hits over six innings as his winless streak reached eight starts. All the damage came in the first, when back-to-back one-out singles set up Jayson Werth's RBI groundout and Desmond's run-scoring base hit.
Roark issued a pair of one-out walks in the sixth before working out of the jam, and the Marlins did not have a baserunner until Justin Ruggiano's two-out single in the ninth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami's starting pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs in 50 of the last 63 contests. … Washington CF Denard Span went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. … The Marlins have scored three or fewer runs in six straight contests.